County treasurer to retire

Published 4:09 am, Wednesday, April 15, 2015

BAD AXE — After holding the position for 10 years, County Treasurer Sherry Learman announced Tuesday that she is retiring.

“It’s not conducive to good health,” Learman said of her job, which requires a hands-on approach “all day, every day” that becomes stressful. “My health has to come first, my family and my grandkids have to come first.”

In August last year, Learman was airlifted to a Saginaw hospital after going into cardiac arrest at her office, according to a police report, which stated an employee found Learman unconscious on the vault floor. Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson said it was believed she was dead. County employees, paramedics and the sheriff’s department helped resuscitated Learman after the incident.

She returned to work weeks later.

County Commissioner and Finance Chair Ron Wruble lauded Learman’s work as treasurer.

“Nobody knows more than I do what you’ve done for this county,” he said.

Learman played a leading role with Wruble and the finance committee in organizing the county’s budget.

“You’re talking millions of dollars all over the place,” Wruble said. “She’s got so many moving parts. It’s a complicated job.”

Learman said she has not set a definite date for her retirement.

A panel consisting of Huron County Prosecutor Tim Rutkowski, Probate Judge David Clabuesch and Clerk Lori Neal-Wonsowicz is responsible for appointing a new treasurer.

Chief Deputy Treasurer Debra McCollum served as acting treasurer during Learman’s recovery period after last year’s incident.

“These are huge, huge shoes to fill,” Wruble said.

McCollum is the logical choice to fill those shoes, according to Wruble.

Preparations for the county’s budget were put on hold at the end of 2014 for the treasurer’s office to focus on day-to-day operations in Learman’s absence. In December, commissioners said the budget would be in the black for the 11th straight year — an effort attributed to Learman during her 10 years as treasurer.